Getting Fido

“So why can’t we have him?” Tyler asked for the fourteenth time since entering the pet store.

“Because Tyler, Mommy has too much to watch over already, and your sister is scared of dogs.”

“That’s stupid, John had two dogs and his sister isn’t a baby.” Tyler slouched even more and let go of the cart.

“That is not a nice thing to say about your sister, Tyler. And I don’t care what John has, John isn’t my child. Why don’t you pick out a nice kitten or a hamster?” Jenny stopped the cart and looked at her son. “Come on, grab onto the cart we need to go find some hay for your sister’s rabbit.

“Why would I want a stupid hamster, and kittens are for girls. I want to have my own puppy, who will play with me and chase me down the stairs. You never let me get what I want, it’s always about Kara.” Tyler glared at his mom and stamped his foot. “We can’t have peanut butter, we can’t go swimming at the pool because she’s scared, and now I can’t even get a puppy. Why can’t she just get over it, not every dog is going to try to eat her.”

“You listen here young man, it is not your sisters fault that she is allergic to peanuts, and she isn’t the only person scared of something, you were scared of the dark until you were six. And if you can’t appreciate the type of pet you can get, then you don’t have to get any. You can either have a fish, a hamster, or a kitten; your choice. Now you can either walk with me to look around the store or we are going home.”

“Fine, let’s go look at the cat room.” Tyler walked back over to the shopping cart and grabbed onto the front of it. “Giddy up cowboy” he said as his mom started pushing the cart.

“Honey don’t you want to get a different kitten, this one doesn’t like people that much.”

“No you said I could pick out my own cat without any help.” Tyler looked at his mother. “OUCH! He scratched me, why’d he do that?” Tyler cradled his hand.

“I tried to tell you that he didn’t like people that much, here let me clean that.” Jenny pulled a wet nap out of her purse and wiped the small cut clean. “There all better, now go find a cat that will play with you.”

“I like this one, is it a boy kitten or a girl kitten?” Tyler pointed to the small orange fluff-ball behind the metal bars.

“Well the biography says that it’s a boy kitten and that it likes to play.”

“I want this one. He’s perfect; I’m gonna call him Fido.”

Jenny sighed to herself. “Are you sure you want to give him a dog’s name? There are lots of cat names that are tough.”

“No I want to call him Fido. He’s going to be my dog. I’m going to teach him to play with me around the house and chase me down the stairs. And that way Kara doesn’t have to be scared of my dog. If she’s nice I might share him with her sometimes.”

A smile began to grow and Jenny’s face. “Alright we can name him Fido but we do have to get him a collar and a name tag.” Jenny picks out a blue cat collar and a small black, bone shaped name tag. “Go take this to the nice cashier so that they can put his name on it, and I will go fill out the adoption paperwork.”

“You really mean it, awesome.” Tyler snatched the small name tag and sprinted over to the cashier. “I finally get to have my own dog.”